She designed a life she loved…

My Journal

We all know the saying, “New Year, new me.” I, for one, like the idea of people taking the opportunity to find ways to better themselves and making goals in general. I also like the idea of having a fresh start. But, I don’t like how a lot of people end up quitting after barely starting. I like achieving my goals and the feeling I get afterwards. I’m not saying I achieve every single one, though. I have quit on myself multiple times in different situations. No one’s perfect. I just think that with the right amount of push and desire to get something done, it can happen. We just have to believe that we are enough for it, even though many times it is hard to keep pushing.

So, here’s the part where I tell you my 2019 resolutions. My first one is hard for me to admit because it’s one of those stereotypical New Years resolutions that most people give up on after a few weeks. I don’t want to be that statistic. I want to prove to myself and everyone that I can do it and keep doing it because I enjoy every moment. Here goes:

1. Work Out

New Workout Clothes

I’ve tried this one time and time again. After about two weeks, every time the result was that I gave up out of pure laziness. I’m tired of quitting and now working harder for it than ever before. Since the beginning of December of 2018, George and I have been going to the gym together. Back then, we tried to go every other day, like 3 days a week. We didn’t really monitor our calories or protein intake and didn’t always go everyday that we were supposed to. We were also limited to our workouts because we went to makeshift temporary gym at our apartment complex as they built the new clubhouse. A lot of necessary weights were missing and eventually, some of the machines’ parts broke/stopped working. 4 weeks of that gym and we were sick of it. So, we recently made the decision to sign up at our local public gym called Youfit. We checked it out a few days ago to check if there was everything that we needed, and it had just about all of it, so we signed up. Well, George did. He got the Lime Card, which is the more advanced membership that has access to everything and he can bring in a guest every time, which would be me. I don’t like the timing of it, because now we look like everyone who made this as their resolution and just signed up for a membership because of it. We’ve just been wanting to work out to work out, not because of a resolution. Also, we desperately needed a better gym. I’m making this a resolution now because I want to keep doing it. We also dedicated ourselves to working out 6 days a week, instead of the 3. It is more rigorous, but we have our own goals that we really want. We also started to be more cautious in our daily intake with our macronutrients, which brings me to the next one.

2. Tracking Macros

Bagel w/ Jelly

George and I have starting drinking pre workout before going to the gym and protein shakes afterwards. Personally, I enjoy the tastes of them and don’t mind drinking them, but George isn’t too fond of their tastes. We had the idea to research how much protein we need now that we’ll be working out almost everyday of the week and also how many calories and grams of carbs and fat specifically for our bodies and with this increase in activity. My intake should be about 1700 cals daily on my workout days (about an hour of workouts) and 1400 on my inactive/rest days. It’s a big jump and my body still isn’t used to eat so much now, so I’ve been slowly training it this week as my metabolism increases. I just want to keep doing this to make sure I’m treating my body correctly for the amount of exercise I’ll be doing for hopefully at least the next 3 months. And of course, George is doing it for the same reasons.

3. STUDY!!

This upcoming semester is going to be the toughest one yet, as far as pre-Nursing goes. My best friend Taisha (also a Nursing student) and I have made a promise to each other to push/motivate each other to stay on top of our studies. We built the exact same schedule with the same professors so that we could help each other study. We plan to form study groups and keep it together throughout the whole semester. We are both exited and nervous to continue on this journey together. Now, I really hope that we can motivate each other enough to last the semester and at the same time, working out around our school/study schedule. I even purchased this planner from Walmart, about $8. I shouldn’t have any excuses because I’m still not working, especially not with this semester. And I’m really glad that I have the opportunity to have the time and focus for school now considering that I’ve had no other choice every other semester to work. Which gives me even more of a reason to not have any excuses for studying and focusing on school this semester.

4. Writing & Posting

I created this blog almost a month ago and I’m enjoying writing more. I want to make it a goal to progress my blog and write more frequently to make it fully active. I also want to grow and expand my follower/view count. So far, it has been a slow process. I currently only have 18 followers. My goal is to have at least 100 at least by the end of 2019. I think that is a fair enough amount with a long stretch of time to reach it.

5. Photography

This past Christmas, I treated myself to buying an Instax Mini camera, one that I’ve been wanting for several years now. I finally got to opportunity to spend money on myself and I got something that I’ve always wanted, and I’m so happy. I want to go back into photography. I miss taking shots of ordinary things and turning them into something beautiful. It’s obviously not a fancy DSLR camera, but it’s something. I can start off small and take casual photos with/of my friends with this for awhile until I am able to get a nice DSLR one day, but that’s another dream.

6. Time Management

Last Fall, I actually did a pretty good job of time management with school, studying, and work. But as my hours of work increased, I had less time with everything else. I started making excuses and kept wanting more breaks at home instead of studying as often as I should have. This ultimately left me to stop working and go back to focus on what was more important. The good news is that I know I can do it. I can manage time. I want to make it a goal this year to do better and become smarter at it. I’m going to need a lot more of it with this harder semester coming and with everything else that I want to keep as a goal.

As always, thank you so much for reading, as well as showing interest in my blog! It means a lot to me and I greatly appreciate it. Do you have any similar things that make you happy as well? What things are different? Let me know if there is also anything you’d like to comment on in the comment box!

2018. This year has been a good, progressive one; it was all uphill. Where to begin? I guess the best way to start is from the beginning! Here’s a recap of my year based on my gallery.

January

I began 2018 off with my loves: George, Robin, & Riley. As our winter break was ending, we binge watched Riverdale on Netflix starting January 1. The rest of the month was a blur of us starting our Spring semester. The end of the month was exiting because it was our 1 year anniversary.

February

February was another month of blur with school and work, but the moments that popped out the most were when I hung out with one of my best friends, Brittany, and Valentine’s Day. Brittany came over to my [old] apartment in Gainesville for what I believe as one of the first time’s at that apartment. The picture above to the right shows what George got me for Valentine’s Day this year. He and his best friend/roommate Filip stayed up the night before doing this origami. The little green thing with the red heart on top is actually a secret letter inside. Behind that are the origami roses. Now, the little teddy bear in that mug is looking a little rough because Robin and Riley decided it was a good idea to play with it, thinking it was one of their toys, and you can tell it’s been thoroughly licked. The box with the homemade sugar cookies is now used to hold most of my makeup.

March

March was a month of sadness and hopefulness. SPRING BREAK!!! In our attempts to take a day trip to the beach with my cousins Chari and Melissa, Chari ended up crashing her car 3/4 of the way there, we never went to the beach, and spent hours just trying to get back to our apartment. RIP to her insurance and the Corolla. When spring break ended, I was the one who drove us to school, for obvious reasons. March was also the month that I tried on fake lashes for the first time and was pleasantly surprised at how they looked and how fast it took for me to get used to them. March was also the month that George and I took a day trip to St. Augustine Beach for both of our first times & to help mend our relationship. We spent the day relaxing in the sand, ate some fruit and subs, played a little soccer, explored the city’s tourist attractions, and ate some delicious pizza downtown. It was the perfect getaway-day. I truly enjoyed it, but by the time we got back to my [old] apartment, I was exhausted.

April

April Fool’s Day was pretty uneventful. I don’t think anyone pulled any pranks or jokes this year, which is sad but also relieving. George and I spent Easter at Sarah and Brian’s new apartment. This was right after they moved to Gainesville. The photo to the right shows 3 little angels on a Walmart grocery run. From left to right, their names are Lil Man (Hulk), Athena, and Faith. My friend Ant owns Lil Man and Faith and Chari owns Athena. They all love to play around together. The only related ones are Faith and Athena.

May

SCHOOL’S OUT, SCREAM AND SHOUT! In May, the only things that were exiting were that the semester had ended and that I got to attend my sister, Pattie’s high school graduation, along with seeing my friends Brittany and Alondra graduate with her. I sat with Melissa the whole time and luckily it didn’t rain as it did in her 2017 graduation. Along with seeing those friends, I also saw Emma and we spent some time together catching up.

June

In June, I spent the whole month basically working my *** off as the month slowly ended. I captured this photo one Sunday evening after work. I worked at the Sears at the Oaks Mall before the store closed down later on in July. As a retail employee, let me just point how rudecustomers get as the store gets busier with more and more discounts added in. First of all, we do not control the prices and discounts; that is up to the liquidator’s plans and schedule for them. Also, when a store closes for good, nowhere in that 90 day period states that customers can get refunds or returns. In fact, it is clearly posted on every single door, counter, ceiling, and wall that those actions are no longer allowed. Not to mention, repeating the same question to return/refund in different formats are still asking to do the same thing and we still can’t do it, no matter how many times you ask and how many different ways you ask. As my coworkers and I loved saying,

“All sales final!”

One more thing, don’t go into the dressing room when it is clearly blocked off/ the sign says a certain amount of items and you bring in more/ leave all your clothes in the dressing room stall like some heathen who was raised by monkeys. Enough ranting. The point is, don’t be that person!!! This is what my coworkers and I had to deal with on a daily basis working overtime and it got worse and worse as the closing date approached. Please be mindful of the employees. Thank you for coming to my TED Talk.

July

After the store officially closed down, July was the time to relax from working so much and have a mini vacation. The first few photos this month are with coworkers enjoying our last days sufferable there. If you see Robin staring at me in the tub, she was indeed sitting in the tub, staring at me. For some reason, she developed a habit in June to climb into George’s bathtub and just sit there awkwardly, it was the weirdest thing. The next several photos are from Marco Island, FL. My family and I stayed there for a weekend. It was amazingly pretty & relaxing and I wish to go back there again. The same day my family went back home, my long-lost high school best friend, Yoojin came back to the states from South Korea, where she stayed with her mom and brother after we graduated. SHE CAME BACK FOR GOOD. We met up and had lunch at Panera after a day to recuperate from her jet lag. Towards the end of the month, Brittany came back to my [old] apartment to help me pack up all my stuff because I was moving in with George!!!! In the last photo you’ll see my big koala bear that George got me for our first Valentine’s Day, all packed up in a big bag. Sadly, it looks like suffocation.

August

August was the happy month that George and I moved in together, coincidentally in the same apartment complex where Sarah and Brian live. The first photo pictures George on my old sleeping bag and me on the couch taking the photo because we didn’t have a mattress yet. We decided to wait until we officially had the apartment so that when we ordered off of Amazon, the memory foam could roll out flat and rise up properly. In other words: I’m never sleeping on that couch again; it was so uncomfortable for my back that I physically couldn’t sleep! It works just fine to sit on and enough for Robin and Riley to chill on it all the time. The next few photos show yet another time when Brittany and I hung out together. The last photo is of Brian, Sarah, Peter, George, and I at a brewery here in Gainesville. August was also the month of the beginning of our Junior year of college. Kind of makes me nervous. I also began working at a new job as a cashier this month.

September

In September, Yoojin and I accidentally started this tradition where I would go over to school on her break between classes and bring lunch. She just loves my sandwiches, which are completely plain but apparently there’s something about them. George and I also ordered a 49 inch 4K Roku TV off Amazon, which was fun watching him set up. It was also the most frustrating time of our lives we had to find a very specific, wide enough tv wall mount for our wall studs & tv size. I also got to purchase 2 new harnesses for Robin & Riley, but the first ones I got them didn’t fit, as you can see Riley’s poor big head stuck. I also got to rescue Yoojin from her flat tire by escorting her to my apartment after getting help putting on a spare. George and I had Francesca’s for the first time on one of our dates. It was a very romantic setting, with a live performance, and good food.

October

I believe October was the month that I got promoted to Customer Service Manager and began working nearly full time. It was a big month for hard work there and in school. Balancing the two became a struggle, but I managed. October is also the month that I got the opportunity to attend Halloween Horror Nights (HHN) at Universal Studios in Orlando, FL. I’ve been wanting to go since middle school, but never had the money for it, so I was extremely exited when I learned that George had bought us tickets as an early celebration to my birthday. My favorite haunted house was the Stranger Things house, inspired by the Netflix Original show. Although there was a lot of waiting in lines and the fact that I grew tired as the night went on since we stayed till around 2 or 3 AM, it was a lot of fun. I’m also not one to get scared often, or like ever, so it was fun watching a certain someone get scared in at least one corner of each house we saw.

November

November was one of the best months of 2018, along with December. Not only because it’s my birth month (Nov 3), but because of all the fun I had with George and our dogs. For my birthday, George made chocolate chip pancakes for breakfast, made me a homemade birthday cake, and later took me out to eat downtown at The Top, which we’ve both never tried before. All were delicious, by the way. Sarah and Brian ended up joining us at the restaurant downtown and after we went to Funworks, where we went go-kart racing (George and I won) and roller skating. It was my first time skating and I’m surprised I didn’t fall as much as I did. I eventually learned how to actually skate for awhile, but never quite fully got it. Overall, I had a lot of fun between everything for my birthday. Oh, by the way I turned 20 this year. We also went to Ocala to visit my parents and have a little party there with family. We were a little late, but that’s not surprising, knowing me. I ended up leaving my job to focus more on school as it became dire to have more time to study for all my classes. For some reason all my exams were one after the other, like they were chasing each other, and there were quite a lot of them, especially towards this time. Before I knew it, Thanksgiving break was around the corner and it was time to relax!!! George, the dogs, and I headed down to Fort Myers, FL, where his parents live. Sarah and Brian also spent the break there too. It was my first time seeing their home, sadly because life happens and no one has time to drive 4 hours to visit and drive another 4 hours back home. But, this time I didn’t have a job keeping me in town so I went with George for the first time. Usually he goes by himself or with Sarah and I’m stuck in Gainesville. It was a beautiful, secluded home with a literal lake in their huge backyard. It was nice seeing all of our dogs running around, playing with each other. There was an instance overnight where a coyote stole Robin’s harness off the back porch and we couldn’t find it the next day until we searched and it was way off somewhere else. One of the days that we were there, George and I went kayaking on the lake and it was my first time! It was pretty fun to learn and relaxing. We also got to go to Naples one night, where George’s friends were that I’ve all met, and that was also pretty fun. On the way back to Fort Myers, I had the best McChicken fro McDonald’s that I’ve ever had, I swear. On one of the days, I got to learn how to throw and catch in lacrosse. I was actually surprised at how fast I learned, but the process was really fun, especially when I got the hang of it. Sarah’s dog Lilah kept intercepting, though. She likes to steal the ball from you and hog it, haha. It was just a great, fun, relaxing, and inviting time there with George’s parents. I loved it there and I want to go many times again. Also, the view is amazing. On our way back to Gainesville, Riley sat on Robin for awhile as you can see in the last photo.

December

After the blurb of a week left of school ending with finals, it was finally Winter break! December has been I think the busiest month yet. So, pretty much after finals, I began writing this blog Life, Entirely. It was a process to introduce myself with all things WordPress, but I got the hang of it all and I’m enjoying all the writing I’m doing again, along with sharing my days with the world. George and I went shopping with Sarah to get some presents with her. George and I were just tagging along, but we got a gingerbread house kit and a lamb suit for Robin. We made the gingerbread houses at Sarah’s the next day and it was a struggle because I haven’t made one since like second or third grade, but I had fun making it with George. We also watched the movie Elf in the background, which was relaxing and got us in the Christmas mood. George brought home cookie mix from where he works at the office here where we live, and made them one night. They were actually not as good as we expected, but they were alright. At one point, I began experimenting with my eye makeup and got back into wearing fake lashes and eyeliner. I also did more practice with eyeshadow blending and glitter, which I think turned out pretty good, in just one try. George and I began staying up later and later every night, which is actually pretty bad, we need to stop. But one night, we went to Steak n’ Shake at like 4 AM and got burgers, fries, and shakes. It was all delicious and surprisingly other people there eating so late. When we got back home that night I learned how to play one of his online games. This one was Magic Arena, and I wouldn’t even call myself a beginner. I’m pretty bad at learning games, usually, but I did have fun trying with George next to me. Hopefully in the future I’ll get better as I start to play more and play against him. Then finally, we spent a whole afternoon of making pies and cookies that all lasted until 3 AM. It was exhausting, but satisfying in the end when we got to sleep. The next day we awaited George’s family to come to Gainesville to visit us for an early Christmas, just a couple days before Christmas. I’m always having a fun time with these people, even though because I’m not much of a talker and more a listener, it may not seem like I’m enjoying it but I am. It also doesn’t help when I’m tired because I talk even less then. But, it was another moment of good, relaxing, fun vibes. My favorite parts was unwrapping all of our gifts we got for each other, playing on our new Nintendo Switch, and also having Christmas dinner together. It was all truly amazing and I wish I would’ve expressed it more. After our little family get together, my long-wanted gift to myself arrived– an Instax Mini camera! It came with a bunch of cool stuff, too. It was a bunch of fun setting it up and using it for the first time. Also, these makeup brushes that I ordered awhile ago finally came in and it made me happy/exited because I had forgotten that I’d even ordered them. On Christmas Eve, George and I went to Ocala to celebrate the event with my parents and some family friends. I also got to read this poetry book I’ve been wanting to get, and I treated myself to it for Christmas. One accomplishment this week was fixing this automatic spray thing we have, and it took awhile, but I learned that all I had to do was change the batteries. I felt dumb afterwards, but relieved that it wasn’t broken and proud of myself for finally figuring out why it stopped working. I also ordered a laptop case bundle with a sleeve, keyboard cover, and screen protector. I’ve been needing a new laptop case since my first one cracked and broke like over a year and a half ago and I’m exited for when this one comes in! Fun fact, George is also in the process of ordering new parts for another computer he’s building for himself. The computer he has now is slowly dying and is in desperate need of a better functioning one, now more so because he switched to all online classes for this upcoming semester. I’m exited to see the action happen as he puts the pieces together in these upcoming weeks ahead. George and I have also started to workout a lot more now. Before it was just one day off and one day on, but now we’re having one rest day a week. We even got Blender Bottles, protein powder, protein bars, and pre workout (mostly for George & his energy). Last but not least, yesterday, I took a lot of time looking through a bunch of lifestyle bloggers on Instagram to follow more of my kind of people and I noticed that their profile pages were really pretty and I wanted to do that kind of design/appeal as well. The second to last photo is my final product of attempting my own. I also wanted to share my logo for Life, Entirely that I added to a background, which I thought looked pretty nice.

So, here we are, 2 days away from New Years Eve and the beginning of 2019. Today, George and I have planned to hit a bunch of different places, including a barber shop, a local gym, and a few stores to shop in. We don’t have big plans for New Years this year, same as last year, which I don’t mind.

Lessons Learned

2018 has taught me that I am a hard worker because of all the over time I put in over the summer. 2018 has taught me of my true patience, which I have a lot of, more than I thought. 2018 has taught me to enjoy the little things in life. 2018 has taught me to treat myself for once, because I was always so used to saving money on more important things. I am grateful for 2018; I spent a lot of time with the people I love and with those I have learned to love. I hope that next year brings me the same and much more. I’m exited to finally get my degree in Nursing and begin Nursing School. I am exited for the future, for myself and together with George. I can’t wait for it all.

As always, thank you so much for reading, as well as showing interest in my blog! It means a lot to me and I greatly appreciate it. Do you have any similar things that make you happy as well? What things are different? Let me know if there is also anything you’d like to comment on in the comment box!

George and I spent this Christmas weekend with his family, since they came up to visit. It was the most fun I’ve had in awhile to be honest. And let me just say, there were almost as many dogs as there were humans.

12/20/18

Let’s start with Thursday night. Thursday was supposed to be spent by George and I baking pies, cookies, and working out. Instead, that day went horribly wrong; everything just kept taking a turn for the worst. We ended up sleeping in a little too late because we stayed up really late the night before. We went to the store to get everything we needed and when we got back home, we ended up taking a nap. By the time we got to even peeling the applies for the pies, it was already getting late and the sun was going down. When it was time to make the pie crust, the dough kept sticking to the rolling pin, so it just kept making holes. The lattice, however, was the trickiest part. Picking one up to criss cross the pies without it breaking in half took skill. Overall, we probably spent twice as much as we should have. For the pecan pies, they were pretty quick and simple to prepare compared to the apple pies, which we should’ve just started with from the beginning. Next were the cookies, which I made as George wrapped a bunch of Christmas gifts in the other room. I made 4 batches of chocolate chip and M&M cookies. The reason why we made so many pies and cookies was because George had to bring in 2 pies to work and his sister Sarah had to bring in cookies to work also. Half of the pies and cookies were also meant to be shared with their family over the weekend. By the time everything was finished and it was time for us to go to bed, it was already 3 AM.

12/21/18

Before everyone came over on Friday, I spent the day sleeping in more and I made the last pie to bring at night. I took way too long to get ready and then after George and Sarah got off work, we went to Publix to get food for Saturday morning. We got back just in time to meet their family and we all went out to eat at The Grub to celebrate George’s brother’s birthday (Peter). I also brought in the apple pie we made to give him for his birthday. And yes, it tasted delicious.

12/22/18

Everyone woke up bright and early Saturday morning, ready for our big brunch. This time Brian (Sarah’s fiancé) was with us. The dogs were energized and played all morning. There was even this one moment where they were all lined up, but Peter’s dog Gordon messed it up.

George and Sarah made chipped beef, bacon, english muffins, and chocolate chip pancakes. Now, I’ve never had chipped beef before or ever heard of it until just recently, but it was actually really good. And I probably should’ve eaten less bacon, but who’s counting. Everyone also blamed Sarah for running out of water. We proceeded the day by opening up Christmas gifts. (I know, it was a little early for it since Christmas is still 2 day away, but with family, who cares if we have an early Christmas). Before that, George and I surprised everyone by changing into our onesies.

Opening all of our gifts was the funnest part of this weekend. There was just so much appreciation and happiness in the air. There were multiple gifts that some of us really did not have to get considering their prices, but we didn’t care; definitely worth it.

Even the dogs got gifts! Here’s Riley modeling his Adidas hoodie.

After the fun was over, we walked the dogs to the dog park in our neighborhood. This part was also fun for me. We got to wear/use some of our Christmas gifts while watching the dogs play and run around.

When we went back to Sarah’s we all split up to get ready for dinner. Sarah and Brian stayed at their place to start cooking the ham, George and I walked over to our place to get ready and bring the pecan pie (after going to Target to get 2 extra Nintendo controlers and new shoes with Peter), and their parents went to change and bring some extra food to make for dinner. When we all went back to Sarah’s, Peter, Brian, George, and I set up the Nintendo Switch that I got for George and we began to play Smash Ultimate. Riley was exhausted and laid on the couch among us, with Robin literally sitting on him for awhile.

After dinner, we played a few rounds of this game called Wolverine that Peter had introduced to us. This was another fun moment to remember before the night ended. Everyone grew exhausted and we split ways after Peter officially left with Gordon to go home.

12/23/18

Sunday has been nothing but sleeping in, writing, and playing Smash for me. I missed the chance to say goodbye to George’s parents and their dog Delilah before they left to go back to Fort Myers. Looking back at the past couple days, I’d say this Christmas has been one for the books.

P.S. George, I plan on making more fun and happy memories like these for the holidays to come 🙂

P.P.S. Delilah was sleeping on Sarah and Brian’s couch for the majority of the time.

As always, thank you so much for reading, as well as showing interest in my blog! It means a lot to me and I greatly appreciate it. Do you have any similar things that make you happy as well? What things are different? Let me know if there is also anything you’d like to comment on in the comment box!

Once upon a time, there was an 18 year old girl starting her second semester of college. In the same city, a 19 year old boy began his third semester. They attended different colleges in the same city, yet they knew nothing of each other…

One January night, both the boy and the girl had mysteriously found each other via today’s modern internet. (I know, how romantic). Little did they know, that night was the beginning of their epic love story.

The boy’s name was George and the girl’s name was Melany. The internet and technology provided them the means of communication in that very city, mere miles away from each other. They shared information about each other until they became close and attached. When they first met, George had introduced Melany to his two little puppies, Riley and Robin. These puppies were not fans of strangers and would bark at them because of the mere fact that they did not know them. However, when these dogs were first introduced to Melany, they did not bark or banter. They did quite the opposite by cuddling and licking her, which might very well be a sign. Melany thought that if his puppies had immediately liked her, maybe, just maybe she and George were meant to be together.

After introducing her to his puppies, George showed Melany around his apartment. It was simple and modern. Then, they watched a show together, too horrid to be acknowledged as a show, The Series of Unfortunate Events. It had just recently been released on Netflix and they had previously discussed their past obsessions over the book series, so they thought, why not watch the new show together. Disappointingly enough, the show was not as expected as far as acting went, so they quickly disapproved.

1/23/17

The next night was one to remember. Melany showed George around her apartment and introduced him to her roommate at the time, Callie. The rest of the time, they spent alone. What do you expect to happen when two college kids are alone together? Nothing drastic, despite what you’re probably thinking. Melany and George shared the most intense and passionate kiss. This was the perfect opportunity that George took to ask Melany to officially date. Melany had thought about this. From the moment that she and George got to know each other, she knew that he would be good to her. He had an overall good character with good intentions and Melany saw a long, committed future with him. Of course, she said yes to his offer. And that day, 1/23/17, was the beginning of a long journey together.

The next almost two years were a blur. For Melany, it felt like they met just yesterday. There were lots of happy moments along with sad moments and the in-between moments. The beginning moments of their relationship consisted of the oh-so-dear honeymoon stage.

Let me share with you the splendid times from then on.

Our Journey

1/31/17

From this point forward, their relationship began to grow and blossom. It is clearly depicted below as different holidays throughout the year, multiple dates, activities, their anniversary, and moving in together. Their love for each other grew as each day followed the next.

Even through the though times, Melany and George stuck together through it all. That includes the worst of the worst times; they went right back to each other.

Almost 2 whole years went by and they are still at it, living happily within each other’s company. As the both of them continue their education and begin their careers, they plan on spending all that time learning to love each other more, if that is even possible.

This season, let us exhale the stress of these past few months, and inhale this long-needed winter break. Of course, the best way to spend winter break is with your loved ones and doing all things Christmas related. My boyfriend (George) and I built a gingerbread house together with the company of his sister and her fiancé (Sarah and Brian).

Building the gingerbread house was both fun and frustrating. Mind you, I haven’t made one since the 1st grade till a few days ago. The annoying part of it was the icing not settling completely to hold everything and it also failing to defy gravity. Seriously, you should see the poor gingerbread man’s face. Every other aspect though, was perfect. This was the best way to spend a Sunday afternoon.

The gingerbread man had experienced a traumatic event and lost his arm in the packaging, but I saved it and safely reattached his arm with the magic of icing. His face, however is a little overdone, but I’d say he’s more handsome than ever. As it turns out, we’re excellent gingerbread-house-making experts! With a little love and creativity, we completed this masterpiece. Also, if you’re wondering what movie we were watching in the background, it was “Elf,” a funny and classic Christmas movie.

Something else that we did that weekend was buy a sheep suit for Robin, our girl dog. It was pretty difficult that first because she kept trying to escape, but we did it. I present to you, Robin the Sheep Dog. (Don’t say it doesn’t make you smile).

These are the kind of activities I enjoy doing. The sweet, little, simple pleasures. They’re what keep me sane at insane times. Without the simple pleasures in life, I think the world would be a little more mad. Some other sweet things I’d like to incorporate into the next couple weeks, as we get closer to Christmas, include having hot chocolate dates and Christmas movie nights with my friends, decorating a little more around the apartment, purchasing last minute Christmas gifts, candlelit nights and having a wonderful Christmas time with family.

As always, thank you so much for reading, as well as showing interest in my blog! It means a lot to me and I appreciate it. What winter activities do you enjoy doing? Let me know if there is also anything you’d like to comment on in the comment box below!